Hiroshi Izumi X Kazuo Misaki! The Special Flying Knee Is Passed Down

Athens silver medalist Hiroshi Izumi and coach Yoji Anjoh held an open training session in Tokyo today. In order for Izumi to get that little extra before his debut, a special coach joined the training today.

That special coach was none other than Kazuo Misaki, who went there to teach Izumi his special move, the flying knee.

Misaki says that when throwing it you should aim at your opponents chest, not face. If you do that, you’ll hit the face or body. Misaki showed the move on Anjoh who was holding the mitt. After receiving the explanation and seeing it, Izumi started practicing.

After the training, talking with reporters, Izumi said that while he is a little anxious for the fight, he feels relaxed and he has a good feeling heading into it.

Izumi says that the hardest thing for him thus far in his MMA training has been the striking, especially the sense of distance while striking. However, to feel the sense of distance is something he has practiced. 70% of his training has been on his stand-up.

Izumi hasn’t studied Nansen in preparation for the fight, he’ll fight with his own style and go with the flow. About wearing a gi, he’ll think about it from now on.

Izumi is grateful that he received the main event spot and he wants to have a fight which corresponds to that. Finally, when asked “KO?”, Izumi said: “That’s ideal…or perhaps I should say, that’s my objective!!!”.

Coach Yoji Anjoh thinks that Izumi has huge potential. Especially amazing are his 73 cm thighs he says. Drawing power out of them will become a weapon both standing and on the ground. He also thinks that Izumi is an intelligent fighter, he has a lot of thoughts while training. Anjoh assures that mentally- and cardio-wise, Izumi is ready.

Yeah, Misaki does look rough. He reminds me of the middle-aged yuppie houswives that think overtanning, excessively bleached hair, and a wardrobe that consists soley of tracksuits is cool in this photo.